Five Sneezes - Epilogue
by honeyandvodka
Summary: This is no mere sneeze. The follow up to Five Sneezes. (Can be read first or on its own.) Kate is unwell, and Castle's right there, taking care of her. Future Fic.


**December, 2014**

Kate groaned. She just wanted this to be over. She'd thrown up twice this morning without Castle noticing; he'd been in the kitchen preparing a breakfast she hadn't eaten while she vomited, showered, vomited again, and got dressed and ready for the day. She'd come out of the bathroom, flushed and angry, and she had avoided his eyes, snapping at him that they needed to hurry. As if it was his fault that her phone had buzzed with a body drop while she'd been hunched over the toilet, emptying the non-existent contents of her stomach for the second time.

"Right," he'd said, and grabbed his jacket, before reaching for hers and helping her into it. In spite of herself, Kate had smiled wanly.

"Thanks," she'd whispered, taking a deep breath and steadying herself.

"You okay?" Castle had asked, his hands lingering on her shoulders just a second longer than they needed too, and she'd shrugged, grimacing at him.

"Fine."

The scene was a clear-cut random mugging, and as she fought the nausea, Beckett vowed she wouldn't let her desire for an easy case cloud the need for justice. She closed her eyes briefly as Lanie filled them in before turning to Ryan. God. This nausea. It was killing her. Weeks of unpredictable vomiting, headaches from a lack of coffee, and no end in sight. If she could just die now; any escape from this queasiness would be welcomed.

* * *

She'd let him drive. If that wasn't a sign that Beckett was anything but okay, he didn't know what was. They'd taken the elevator down to the basement wordlessly, Castle casting anxious looks at his wife until she'd glared at him, hissing "Castle," in warning. She had taken one look at her police-issue unit, parked oh-so-conspicuously between Castle's Ferrari and their neighbor's BMW and she'd sighed audibly, reaching into her pocket and handing Castle her car keys. "Don't say a word," she'd hissed again, and she'd leaned her head against the passenger side window as they made their way to the scene.

Castle cast another anxious look at Kate before turning back to Lanie.

"Lividity tells me that he's been dead at least six hours," the ME told them.

"Who found him?" Beckett managed, and Castle caught the frown Lanie threw at them both. No way did she not know something was up, and he shrugged at her apologetically.

"Janitor," Ryan supplied, joining them. He indicated behind him. "Esposito's talking to him now."

Kate nodded, and when she stayed quiet, Castle filled the silence. "Let's bring him in."

The look Kate shot him was one of despair, rather than fire, and he followed her back to her car wordlessly. "Let's bring him in?" she asked, when she was seated behind the wheel. "Isn't that my line?"

Castle shrugged, reaching a hand out and resting it on her knee. "Kate. Come on. Let's take today. You need to be home."

She shook her head. "No. Today- it's not worse than any other day. I'm okay. It comes and goes."

"You- Kate, you threw up twice this morning."

Her eyes flashed and he winced. "You knew?"

Castle fixed her with a look. "I knew." Of course he knew. He'd hovered outside the bathroom door, only racing back to the kitchen to fix the toast when he'd heard the toilet flush, certain at that point that she wasn't going to call for him.

Kate shrugged, apparently relenting. "We have to go back to the precinct first," she said. "Make sure everyone's up to speed."

"Or maybe we should go back to the precinct, get everyone up to speed with why you've been so-" _out of it_, he'd been about to say, before thinking better of it. "So unwell," he finished weakly, and Kate gave him a sideways look.

"Weren't you the one who said we needed to wait until the end of the first trimester until we told anyone?" she asked.

Castle shrugged. "Yeah, I did." He rubbed his forehead. "I did. But that was- when _we_ found out, I had no idea that morning sickness was going to hit you like this."

Kate scowled. "Me either. And maybe if I was allowed to have coffee I'd feel better."

"You've had coffee," Castle reminded her, and Kate narrowed her eyes at him.

"Decaf. I have had _decaf_," she hissed, and he shrugged, hiding a grin.

"Well, the doctor told you that you could have a cup of regular coffee a day- it would be okay, you know," he reminded her.

"I know," she sighed. "But- look, it's not about the coffee. And I don't want to tell anyone. Not until we have to."

"Which is when, Beckett? When you're showing? When you give birth?"

Kate shook her head again, before sweeping her hair out of her face. "I feel better," she assured Castle. "I do. So let's go back to the precinct, work the case- we can talk later about telling them."

"Okay," Castle agreed, reaching across and trailing his fingertips across her still flat stomach. "Later. But honestly, I think they know something is up. Lanie does, at least."

"I know," Kate nodded, taking his hand from her stomach and pressing her lips to his fingers before turning the key and starting the car.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Castle asked, and Kate nodded uncertainly.

"Yeah. I'm fine- _really_," she assured him, reaching for the plates and taking them to the table. It had been a long day, but she didn't feel unwell anymore; the nausea had passed by the time they'd made it into the precinct and she hadn't had to excuse herself to the bathroom many more times than normal. Except for the constant pressing on her bladder, she'd felt great all day, and she and Castle had only left the murder board when he'd reluctantly reminded her that they'd invited her dad around for dinner.

Castle shrugged, chopping tomatoes and adding them to the salad one by one. "And you don't want to tell him- you're sure about that, too?"

"Yes, Castle, I'm sure- I want to wait another two weeks, until we're in the second trimester, okay?"

"But-"

"Seriously, Castle. You're making me regret telling _you_." She laughed though, the smile in her eyes belying her words, and she pressed her lips to his. "Not a word, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, setting the knife back on the counter and wiping the tomatoes from his hands before pulling her into an embrace. "Have I mentioned how amazing you are?" he whispered into her ear, and she smiled wryly.

"Amazing. Right. It's taking all I have to get out of bed most mornings, and I only manage that because I have to throw up."

He shrugged, pushing her hair from her face. "You're amazing. In every way. Going through this every day-"

He was cut off by the sound of the buzzer, and Kate rolled her eyes before pulling away and heading to the door of their loft.

"Katie," her dad greeted her with a smile, and a short embrace, before shaking his son-in-law's hand. "Rick."

"Hi, Jim." Castle took the man's coat, hanging it beside theirs in the hall closet.

"Hey, Dad," Kate said, suddenly aware of how nervous she was. She didn't want to say anything; she didn't; but she had the uncomfortable feeling that she was lying to her dad, rather than just omitting some of the truth. And it wasn't helping that her stomach had started to roll again now that Castle had opened the oven, the rich fragrance of the roast chicken she'd been craving suddenly setting her at unease.

They sat down to dinner, the conversation a little more stilted than usual. At least she didn't have to pretend to drink wine, or make excuses about not drinking when Jim was there; when Martha had dropped in unexpectedly last week Kate had found herself making all kinds of work related excuses to avoid sharing the bottle her mother-in-law had opened.

"It was great," her father enthused, and Kate nodded. What was great? She cast an anxious look at Castle. Oh. The game her dad had been to recently. "We'll have to go, Rick," Jim urged, and Castle nodded.

Kate pushed the food around her plate uncomfortably. Castle was managing to keep her dad's attention off of her, but she shifted awkwardly in her chair, unsure how much longer she could hold out. "Uh-huh," Castle agreed. "I'd love to." Kate rolled her eyes, certain that Castle would not, in fact, love baseball if Jim really did get him to a game. Variations of this conversation seemed to play out every time the two men met; her dad waxing lyrical about the sport, and Castle agreeing enthusiastically. She shrugged to herself. If they ever made it to a ball game the stadium would provide a great venue for people watching, so even if Castle didn't follow what was going on on the field, he'd probably enjoy the experience.

Besides, eventually they'd have to make it to a game; there was no doubt her dad would be pretty keen on indoctrinating his new grandson or granddaughter as soon as possible. She smiled to herself, imaging her small infant decked out in Mets team gear.

She raised her fork to her lips, but found herself unable to take a bite of the chicken; what had been so tantalizing just an hour ago was- Kate grimaced, throwing her fork down and excusing herself hastily.

"Excuse me," she heard Rick say to Jim, and she heard the heavy tread of his footfall behind her, but she needed to get to the bathroom, and now.

Castle closed the door gently behind him as she slumped on the floor, her head against the wall, the lid back down on the toilet. "Ugh. I'm so sick of this, Castle," Kate told him, exhaling angrily. "I feel fine again now, though."

Castle crouched down beside her, wincing as his bad knee twinged. "Mmm," he agreed, pulling her to him. "I know. But you're doing so great. You're amazing. Extraordinary."

Kate shrugged. "I don't feel amazing. I feel gross."

Castle nodded, conceding. "Understandable." He stood up and reached for her toothbrush, squeezing some paste on it before he handed it to her. "Here."

"Thanks." Kate stood up too, taking the toothbrush and swirling it angrily around her mouth before rolling her eyes at him and speaking through the paste in her mouth. "It's going to be worth it, right?"

Castle nodded, reaching for her and letting his fingers lightly graze across her stomach. "So worth it. So very worth it." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'm going to go see how your dad's doing- you going to be okay?"

"Mmm." Kate nodded. "I'll be out in a minute." She watched Castle close the door behind him, smiling even as she leaned her heavy head against the wall. She didn't want to go back; she wanted to go straight to bed, and sleep through the rest of the first trimester in the hopes that when she woke up, these bouts of morning- _all day_- sickness would be done with. Castle was being wonderful though, and she blushed to herself as she remembered handing him the keys to her cruiser this morning. And the man actually _hadn't_ said a word. Not a teasing remark, nothing. These days he really seemed to know right where the line was; when to push, and when to pull back.

She took a last look at herself in the mirror, critically noting the bags below her eyes and the way her shirt wasn't sitting quite right. Huh. Her stomach may have been yet to expand, but there really were other signs of change at play here. Scowling, she smoothed the shirt down, succeeding only in pulling it tighter against her fuller breasts, before sighing, and leaving the bathroom, slowly walking across the open living room and into the dining area.

"Hey, Katie," her dad beamed at her, and Castle averted his eyes, finally looking up and meeting her own with a sheepish look.

"You told him?" Kate exclaimed, already knowing the answer; only one thing would have put that look of expectation and joy on her father's face, and that particular expression of uncertainty on her husband's.

"Um," said Castle, looking frantically at Jim for support. "Jim... he guessed, Kate. I swear. He guessed, and I didn't say a word." His words came out in a rush, his panic evident. "What do you want me to do- _lie_ to my _father-in-law_?"

Jim smiled, standing and reaching for Kate, and she smirked at Castle's dramatic flair. "Guess not," she agreed, letting her father hug her. "Sorry you didn't hear it from me," she whispered, and her dad laughed.

"Your mom wouldn't let me tell anyone either, but I wanted to shout it from the rooftops," he told her.

"Oh yeah? Did Mom have killer morning sickness too?"

Jim shook his head. "Not like you- Rick told me things have been pretty rough."

Kate nodded. "Yeah. It's been... tough. But I'm nearly at the end of the first trimester, so I can only hope that it will ease off."

Jim nodded, reaching out and awkwardly patting her hand. "I hope so." His eyes twinkled again, and Kate grinned, certain she knew what was going to come out of his mouth next. "I can't wait to get the baby all decked out in baseball gear- just think of that- my little grandson or granddaughter, a little Mets supporter.

Kate laughed. She'd been right. Across from her, she could see Castle relaxing into his chair, pleased that she wasn't angry that he'd been unable to keep their secret.

* * *

"Come here," he said, and Kate relaxed into Castle's arms. He loved these moments, when it was just the two of them in the loft. He grinned to himself. Soon to be three. "Have I told you how amazing you are?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Once or twice, yeah."

"Well, I mean it," Castle insisted. "Why don't I run you a bath?"

"I was just going to go to bed," she told him, but he could see she was considering it. She glanced around at the mess in the kitchen reluctantly. "Shouldn't we do something about this?"

He shrugged. "Later." He waved his hand dismissing it. "I'll take care of it later. I'm going to run you a bath first." Kate nodded into his chest, and he grinned. He didn't know how she was still standing after the day she'd had. "Come on," he urged, taking her hand and leading her into the master bathroom.

He ran the water, squeezing in a generous amount of bubble bath, and turned his attention back to Kate. She was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, and the trace of a smile on her lips. Unable to resist, he pressed his own mouth to hers briefly, before tugging her shirt over her head and unbuttoning her jeans. She smiled and kissed him back, opening her eyes to watch him watch her as she shimmied out of the jeans, letting the soft denim puddle on the floor beside her shirt.

She bit her lip as she unhooked her own bra, and he pressed his lips first to one nipple, then the other, lightly. Kate smiled, and Castle ran his fingertip along her hip, above the line of her underwear. She wrinkled her nose, curious, as he divested her of her last piece of clothing.

"Which bubble bath did you put in there?" she asked, her brow creasing. "That's not the new lavender one."

"About that." Castle cleared his throat. "I was, uh, doing some reading and apparently pregnant women shouldn't use lavender products, so..."

"Really?" Beckett sounded skeptical.

"Really. I mean, I have no idea whether or not it's true, but I really did _read_ it. So this one is ylang ylang," he announced proudly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Ylang ylang, huh?" The look on her face had Castle chuckling.

"Yes," he beamed. "Ylang ylang. It reduces your blood pressure, and is comforting if you're feeling stressed and tense. And it's romantic."

She shook her head, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "And just where did you get it from? And when? Because it wasn't in the bathroom this morning, I'm sure of that."

"Today," he told her.

"Today?" she asked, stepping into the bath. He watched her lithe form with admiration as she sank down into the water, under the bubbles. "When today? We were together the entire day. Here." She counts each of the places off on her fingers. "Crime scene. Precinct. Lunch. Precinct. Here, when we were cooking."

He shrugged, and she narrowed her eyes at him and he swallowed. She wasn't buying his innocent looks after all. "I may have-uh- well- LT took a lunch break- and-"

"And you coerced LT into going shopping for you? For _bath products_?" Kate sounded somewhere between kind-of-mad and sort-of-impressed and Castle smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Uh-huh," he confirmed proudly, turning and heading to the door.

"Uh- Castle?"

"Yeah?" He turned back to Kate, surprised at the look of consternation on her face.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "You're not joining me?"

"Oh." Oh. He hadn't realized- she was sleepy, and he'd figured on letting her relax in the tub while he cleaned the kitchen. "Oh." It only took a second, but his clothes were quickly on the tiles beside hers. Castle dipped a cautious foot into the water, and Kate shuffled forward a little, making room for him behind her.

She leaned her head back against his chest and he inhaled, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair, and she chuckled.

"For what, Castle? Spilling the beans to my Dad, or getting me pregnant?"

"Um… both?" Castle swept Kate's hair out of his way, and kissed her neck. "I take that back. I'm not sorry about either." She sighed, a soft sound of satisfaction, and he continued. "I didn't mean to tell your dad, but I'm glad he knows- he's so excited." Castle grinned, imagining how excited his own mother would be. He wondered idly if his dad would know; if Jackson was still keeping tabs on him. And Alexis. He really couldn't guess at his daughter's reaction. "And I'm _definitely_ not sorry that I got you pregnant. Plus- we had a lot of fun getting you that way."

Kate laughed and he ran his hands down her arms, smiling as goose bumps dotted over her skin in spite of the warmth of the bath. "We did," she agreed smugly.

"I am sorry you've been so sick though."

Kate shrugged, and he ran his fingertips across her stomach, up just a little, to the soft swell of her breasts. She sighed and leaned back against him, taking his hand and kissing his palm before replacing it on her chest, letting her own fingertips run across her nipples before dropping her hand and watching in satisfaction as he traced circles on her right breast. His breathing caught as he felt her nipple harden, and she groaned, softly, this time grinding back into him a little.

"I thought you were tired?" he asked with a smirk and she laughed, a low throaty sound that had him rolling his eyes heavenward, an _oh_ of gratitude forming at his lips.

"I was," she agreed. "But now... I'm just kinda relaxed, you know?"

He nodded mutely, moving his hand lower, biting into her shoulder as she squirmed and tried her best to speed him up with a shimmy of her hips. "Relaxed, huh?"

She gasped, a sharp intake of air. "Maybe the wrong word," she admitted. "More like… I need to relax."

Castle smiled as he shifted so he was no longer sitting behind Kate, but rather, lying beside her, his hand between her legs and his mouth at her breast. Kate moaned again, shifting her hips just a little; closer to him.

As he teased her, he lifted his head, his eyes on her face, watching as she closed her eyes and melted into his touch. "Relaxing?" he asked, in between peppering her skin with kisses, and she opened her eyes in a wordless response, the glow on her face his answer. Castle beamed back; never more grateful than now for the tub in the master bathroom.

**A/N: Working title became "2000 words and they're **_**still**_ **not in the bath? WTF?" I didn't really set out to write pregnancy fic, but it was kind of logical, since I wanted Beckett to be sick, but for both C and B to be happy. So, a sequel to Five Sneezes because Trish (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) and Avi asked, and bath fic, because Avi requested suds. Who am I to deny a request like that?! And Amanda- sorry (not sorry) I didn't have this to you by 6.20am, when you made **_**such**_ **a reasonable request at 9pm on a Friday night. (*rolleyes*) Dear Ky- thank you for the beta! **


End file.
